World Ocean Council Webinars Will Ensure Ocean Industries are Informed on Status and Content of Proposed New High Seas Biodiversity Rules

June 22, 2017 -- The 4th (and final) U.N. meeting to negotiate a new legally binding instrument to expand the Law of the Sea to regulate the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ) will take place on 10-21 July. The World Ocean Council (WOC) has been providing the only comprehensive ocean business community presence in the BBNJ process.

To ensure that the private sector is aware of the status of the negotiations and the content of the emerging BBNJ legal agreement, the WOC is organizing three webinars, each of which will cover one of the three main elements of the negotiations:

Webinar 1 – BBNJ: Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs)
Monday, June 26, 5PM- 6PM UTC Click here to register
Speakers: Paul Holthus, WOC CEO; Stella Bartolini, WOC BBNJ Advisor; Lora Reeves, Principal, Global Ocean Consulting, LLC

Webinar 2 - BBNJ: Area-based Management Tools including Marine Protected Areas (MPAs)
Wednesday, June 28, 7PM-8PM UTC Click here to register
Speakers: Paul Holthus, WOC CEO; Stella Bartolini, WOC BBNJ Advisor; Robin Warner, Professor, Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security (ANCORS), University of Wollongong

Webinar 3 - BBNJ: Marine Genetic Resources, including benefit sharing
Tuesday, July 11, 12PM-1PM UTC Click here to register
Speakers: Paul Holthus, WOC CEO; Stella Bartolini, WOC BBNJ Advisor; Thomas Vanagt, Managing Director, eCOAST Marine Research

Later in the year, a full review and analysis for industry of the final text for the proposed BBNJ legally binding agreement to the Law of the Sea will take place at a special session of the 2017 Sustainable Ocean Summit (SOS), Halifax, 29 Nov -1 Dec.

It is critical that the ocean business community is well informed of this U.N. process and the changes it will bring to commercial activities in international waters for decades to come. To help promote coordinated industry involvement in the BBNJ process, the WOC and International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) organized the "UNCLOS-BBNJ Coalition", with the International Chamber of Shipping as chair, and including organizations such as Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), International Association of Geophysical Contractors (IAGC), European Network of Maritime Clusters and Marine Bio-Technologies Center of Innovation. Additional ocean industry organizations are invited and encouraged to participate in the coalition.

The WOC is organizing for industry the only expert review and analysis of the BBNJ process, covering the preparatory dynamics, priority BBNJ issues, concerns and input of governments and other stakeholders, and the evolving content of the new legally binding agreement.